ECF Essentials E-Newsletter Topics

The Clerk’s Office is undertaking its yearly attorney renewal project this summer. Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 83.9(a), “each member of the Bar of this Court shall renew his or her membership every three years.” Attorneys whose admission to our Bar has lapsed were notified in May and the deadline to renew will be July 1st. The fee to renew admissions is $25.00 (LCvR 83.9(b)) and can be paid and processed electronically in ECF using the miscellaneous case 15mc9999. Details for this procedure will be included in your notification email, and you can also refer to our website for further information: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/AttorneyAdmissionsRenewalInformation.

As an important reminder, please be sure to clearly label any sealed or proposed sealed documents that are filed electronically in partially sealed cases as UNDER SEAL or FILED UNDER SEAL (or similar) before filing them in ECF. It should be clear by looking at the face of the document that it is sealed. Ideally, the sealed notation should be made under or near the case number in the caption of the document.

As another reminder, new parties entered into our database when a civil case is opened must be entered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, not upper and lowercase. Also, it is imperative that you search the party database first to see if the name already exists, before creating a duplicate party. Lastly, please be sure to assign the proper role type to each party (i.e., plaintiff, defendant, etc.). In particular, proposed Amicus Curiae and Intervenor parties should be added as a MOVANT in the case until their motion for leave to file or intervene is granted. If you have questions on how to add a party to a case, please contact our ECF Help Desk at (202) 354-3190.

Please note, any online PDF forms in which text is entered into fillable text fields (i.e., Notice of Appearance form, Civil Cover Sheet, etc.), must be printed to a new PDF before it is attached to a docket entry in ECF. Merely saving the document will leave the text fields fillable and able to be altered. Printing the form to a new PDF will fix the text fields in place, as required by the Clerk’s Office.

Several new events have been created in ECF recently, including Amended Crossclaim, Amended Counterclaim, and Amended Third-Party Complaint. These events should only be used when filing an amended crossclaim, counterclaim or third-party complaint when it is filed by itself and not as part of an answer. All of these new events can be found under Complaints and Other Initiating Documents on the CIVIL docketing menu in ECF.

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts will be rolling out a new version of ECF this year, called NextGen 1.1. The transition will be an extensive undertaking and it will be several months before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia goes live with the new software, but we wanted to highlight some of the new features that are forthcoming and alert you that there will be new training opportunities and tutorials available in the future.

For three years, groups of judges, chambers staff, and court staff developed more than 400 requirements for NextGen, while other stakeholders provided input as well. The goals of NextGen are:

greater integration among the district, bankruptcy, and appellate systems

shared data with other Judiciary electronic systems

more streamlined processes

greater consistency in user experience

greater efficiency by using new tools and technology

The biggest feature that will affect external users is Central Sign-On, which will allow users of the case management system to maintain one account across all courts (appellate, bankruptcy, and district) and to sign in one time to access all the courts in which they have permission to e-file. Each user will be identified with the appropriate level of access in each court in which they are allowed to file or view documents. The PACER Service Center will support outside user requests for attorney admissions and e-filing recognition from various courts. Courts will be responsible for admitting attorneys and assigning e-filing permissions to users.

You can see more about what to expect with ECF NextGen on PACER: https://www.pacer.gov/nextgen/. And keep an eye out for more information from our court in the coming months.

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts will be rolling out a new version of ECF in 2015, called NextGen 1.1. The transition will be an extensive undertaking and it will be many months before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia goes live with the new software, but we wanted to highlight some of the new features that are forthcoming and alert you that there will be new training opportunities and tutorials available in the future.

For three years, groups of judges, chambers staff, and court staff developed more than 400 requirements for NextGen, while other stakeholders provided input as well. The goals of NextGen are:

greater integration among the district, bankruptcy, and appellate systems

shared data with other Judiciary electronic systems

more streamlined processes

greater consistency in user experience

greater efficiency by using new tools and technology

The biggest feature that will affect external users is Central Sign-On, which will allow users of the case management system to maintain one account across all courts (appellate, bankruptcy, and district) and to sign in one time to access all the courts in which they have permission to e-file. Each user will be identified with the appropriate level of access in each court in which they are allowed to file or view documents. The PACER Service Center will support outside user requests for attorney admissions and e-filing recognition from various courts. Courts will be responsible for admitting attorneys and assigning e-filing permissions to users.

You can see more about what to expect with ECF NextGen on PACER: https://www.pacer.gov/nextgen/. And keep an eye out for more information from our court coming up in 2015.

When a complaint is accompanied by a Motion for Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), both the complaint and the TRO should be submitted in paper to the Clerk's Office and not filed electronically in ECF.

Complaints accompanied by a Motion for Preliminary Injunction (PI) can be filed electronically. However, if the PI motion also includes a request for TRO, then it and the complaint must be submitted in paper to the Clerk’s Office and not filed electronically in ECF.

The first filing by or on behalf of a party (i.e., the complaint) must have in the caption the name and full residence address of the party, pursuant to Local Rule 5.1(c). In addition, the caption of a Notice of Removal should match the DC Superior Court case, address(es) included.

While addresses of parties should be included in the caption of the complaint, addresses should not be added to the docket or a party in our database when opening a new civil case.

In addition to amended Local Rules that went into effect last fall (October 2013), several additional rules have been modified in June. In particular, Local Civil Rules 83.2(d) and 83.8(a), and Local Criminal Rules 44.1(d) and 57.21(a), which deal with Practice by Attorneys and Admission to the Bar, have been amended. For details of these changes and the most up to date practices of our Court, please review the Local Rules posted on our website: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/local-rules.

Effective June 12, 2014, the Court amended the Local Rules for both civil and criminal cases to now require a $100.00 filing fee for a Motion to Appear Pro Hac Vice. The docket entry includes the ability to pay with a credit/debit card or electronic bank account withdrawal via pay.gov, similar to the process of paying new civil case and appeal filing fees. Please be sure to use the correct event in ECF – Appear Pro Hac Vice on the Motions menu – to properly file and pay the filing fee for such motions.

When filing an Amended Complaint in ECF, remember to add any new parties to the case, whether they are plaintiffs or defendants. Do not select “all defendants” as the party the complaint is being filed against. It is the attorney’s responsibility to correctly add new parties to the case when applicable. The Clerk’s Office will follow up and terminate any parties that may no longer be involved in the complaint. For a refresher on how to file an Amended Complaint and/or add new parties to a case, please visit our website: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/ECFCR

If you are new to our court’s bar or do not file in our court on a regular basis, we urge you to please take a moment to review our documentation on opening a new civil case before attempting to do so. A number of errors continue to be made, most often by first-time filers. For tutorials, step-by-step instructions and other information, please visit our website at: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/AttyCivilCaseOpeningInfo. Some of the most commons errors still being made during civil case opening include:

Not adding all parties to the case and/or not using ALL CAPS.

Not adding party text to a party where applicable

Not searching the party database first before creating/adding a duplicate party that is already in the system

Adding addresses for a party (addresses are required to appear in the caption of the complaint only, NOT on the docket of the case)

Opening multiple case shells when a mistake is made (instead of calling the Clerk’s Office)

Filing the complaint more than once

Filing the Related Case Form and/or Local Rule 7.1 Certificate of Disclosure as attachments to the complaint, rather than separate docket entries

Bypassing or answering “no” to the requirement to pay the filing fee when the fee should actually be paid. Unless you are filing a complaint on behalf of the government, you MUST pay the $400.00 filing fee upon opening your case (via pay.gov). Failure to pay the fee may result in the dismissal of your case.

As a reminder, miscellaneous cases are NOT to be filed electronically in ECF; they must be brought to the Clerk’s Office to be processed over the counter. In addition, though most civil complaints are required to be filed electronically in ECF, there are a number of instances where the complaint should be brought into the Clerk’s Office for processing. These types of cases include the following:

Complaints accompanied by an Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis

Complaints accompanied by a Motion for Temporary Restraining Order

Complaints accompanied by a Motion to Seal or Partially Seal

Complaints accompanied by a Motion to Use a P.O. Box Address

Complaints accompanied by a Motion to Use a Pseudonym (e.g., John Doe)

Effective October 1, 2013, amendments and additions were made to the District Court’s Local Rules. Specifically, Local Civil Rules 5.1, 5.4(b), 5.4(c)(1), 5.4(d), 5.4(e), 5.4(g), 7(m) and 7(n) were amended, Local Criminal Rule 49 was created, and Local Criminal Rule 49.1 was repealed. For details on the changes, please visit our website and click on the Changes to Local Rules.

As part of the aforementioned Local Rules amendments, the Clerk’s Office is implementing a new procedure regarding the filing of sealed documents in both civil and criminal cases. Effective November 12, 2013, attorneys will be required to file sealed documents electronically in otherwise public/non-sealed cases using the ECF system. This procedure extends to a Motion for Leave to File a Document Under Seal; the motion will be filed by the attorney in ECF with the proposed sealed document attached as an exhibit to the motion. Please note, all sealed documents, including the Motion for Leave to File and accompanying Proposed Order, should be clearly marked as UNDER SEAL, and any subsequent redacted versions should be clearly marked as REDACTED. Attorneys should continue to submit sealed documents in completely sealed cases to the Clerk’s Office in paper and on disk.

The Clerk’s Office has created and tested specific events in ECF to make this new procedure as simple to follow as possible, and we have produced detailed documentation for attorneys and their staff to help them with the process. Please review the instructions we have posted on our website before attempting to file a sealed document or Motion for Leave to File a Document Under Seal in a public case:http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/sealed.

There are a couple of small differences in the civil and criminal procedures, so please review both sets of instructions at your earliest convenience. If you have any questions or concerns about this new procedure, please call our Help Desks before attempting your first sealed filing: (202) 354-3190 (Civil), or (202) 354-3060 (Criminal).

Attorneys can also retrieve forgotten ECF passwords with our “Forgot Password” function: https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PwReset.pl. New and reset passwords will be issued in 3-5 business days. If you have an emergency filing, please contact the Clerk’s Office (202-354-3120) and we will issue the password as soon as possible.

Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 5.1, please be sure to keep your mailing address, email address, and telephone number up to date in the ECF system. You may do this by filing a Notice of Change of Address in your case, or update the information using the Utilities section in ECF.

When filing sealed material in person, include one (1) original (with ink signature, not /s/), one (1) copy, and the PDF on a disk.

When opening a new case, remember to attach the summons to the complaint, add all parties in ALL CAPS, and the Disclosure of Corporate Affiliates and Financial Interests (Local Civil Rule 7.1) Certificate and Notice of Related Case should be filed as separate docket entries (not attached to the complaint).

As a reminder, please do not file new cases electronically in ECF when the complaint is accompanied by a motion for preliminary injunction and/or temporary restraining order (TRO). New cases involving injunctions or TROs should be submitted to the Clerk’s Office in paper with a PDF version on disk so that it may be processed and assigned to a judge as soon as possible.

It has been one year since the Clerk’s Office made civil case opening in ECF mandatory for attorneys and it was a work in progress for both our staff and our registered filers. Thank you for your continued diligence and patience throughout the process! While many of the kinks have been worked out, we do have just a few reminders of some of the most commonly made errors in the case opening process:

DO NOT enter the address in ECF for any party you add to a case. Only the party name and party text are required when entering parties in a case. Addresses should only appear in the caption of the complaint document itself.

DO NOT open a case in ECF if the complaint is accompanied by a motion for temporary restraining order. These cases need to be processed and assigned a judge immediately and therefore should be brought to the Clerk’s Office in paper, along with copies of all PDFs on disk.

DO NOT open two cases/shells if you make a mistake in the first attempt. This creates more of a problem for the Clerk’s Office to remedy than any spelling error or incorrect data entry. No matter the error, commit to opening the case once and/or call the Clerk’s Office for further assistance.

Effective immediately, attorneys may file motions to intervene and motions for leave to file amicus curiae briefs directly in ECF. Previously, these types of motions were emailed to the Clerk’s Office so that a case administrator could add the new parties/movants to the case. After a year of mandatory civil case opening, filers should now be familiar with how to add new parties to a case and can file these types of motions themselves. As a reminder, SEARCH first before adding a new party to the system and party names should always be in ALL CAPS. In addition, the role type of each moving party should be changed to MOVANT (the party role will be changed to intervenor or amicus once the motion has been granted). Detailed instructions on this procedure are available on our website and should be reviewed before filing such motions: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/ECFCR

Beginning June 1, 2013, attorneys will be required to file amended complaints, as well as any crossclaims, counterclaims and third-party complaints that are filed separately from an answer. (Note: Answers that include crossclaims, counterclaims or third-party complaints should continue to be filed using the Answer to Complaints event). The new events Amended Complaint, Crossclaim, Counterclaim and Third Party Complaint are available under Complaints and Other Initiating Documents on the CIVIL menu in ECF. Detailed instructions on these new procedures are available on our website and should be reviewed before filing such documents: https://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/ECFCR

A new criminal event is now available for ECF users: Notice of Proposed Order. Similar to the civil version of this docket entry, it can be found on the Notices menu and should be used when a proposed order has been left off of a motion, or if the Court directs a proposed scheduling order (or similar) be filed. The proposed order must include the proper court heading, case caption and case number but does not need an attorney signature or cover page/notice.

The public comment period for some proposed new and modified Local Rules is over and these rules should be finalized and adopted sometime in the near future. Modifications will primarily focus on the form and filing of civil and criminal documents by electronic means, keeping in line with the long-time practices of the Clerk’s Office with regards to filing in ECF. In addition, rules will be added to govern the new procedure of electronically filing some types of sealed documents in otherwise unsealed civil and criminal cases. Further detailed information on these changes will be sent by email and available on our website when the new rules go into effect.

Two new events have been added to ECF to aid attorneys in filing new civil cases: Civil Cover Sheet and Request for Summons to Issue. Both events can be found on the Complaints and Other Initiating Documents menu in ECF. Filers are required to attach the civil cover sheet (JS44) to the complaint or notice of removal docket entry. However, if it is forgotten, or if changes are required to the form after it’s been filed with the complaint/notice, filers should use the event Civil Cover Sheet to file it as a separate docket entry. Similarly, if a summons is not included as an attachment to the complaint docket entry, or if any corrections to a summons need to be made, filers should use the event Request for Summons to Issue to submit the summons any time after the complaint has been filed.

Some proposed new and modified Local Rules are currently out for public comment and should be finalized and adopted sometime in May. Modifications will primarily focus on the form and filing of civil and criminal documents by electronic means, keeping in line with the long-time practices of the Clerk’s Office with regards to filing in ECF. In addition, rules will be added to govern the new procedure of electronically filing some types of sealed documents in otherwise unsealed civil and criminal cases. Further detailed information on these changes will be sent by email and available on our website when the new rules go into effect.

Version 6.1 of ECF is scheduled to be uploaded by May. This may be the final version of ECF before the “Next Generation” of ECF becomes available in 2014. There are two noteworthy changes for PACER users:

Mobile Query:
The mobile PACER Case Locator (PCL) provided by the PACER ServiceCenter is now linked to the District CM/ECF application. Users can access the mobile query via the Mobile Query link on the Query selection criteria page, from a case link from PACER's mobile PACER Case Locator, or through the Mobile Query link on the Query results page. The mobile query interface offers a simplified user experience optimized for display on mobile devices. It incorporates the following functions:

Search interface

Party selection from party name search result list

Case selection from case search result list based on case or party name search

Attorney information for selected case

Party information for selected case

Deadlines/Hearings for selected case

Docket entries for selected case

PACER login

RSS Feed:
The RSS feed software included with CM/ECF has been changed to report all activity for the last 24-hour period, regardless of the number of records. This information is pulled once per hour and synchronizes the RSS response times between District, Appellate, and Bankruptcy.

Effective May 1, 2013, a $50.00 administrative fee will be added to the cost of filing a civil action, increasing the total cost of filing a new civil case to $400.00. This fee does not apply to persons granted in forma pauperis status under 28 U.S.C. Section 1915.

Effective May 1, 2013, a $50.00 administrative fee will be added to the cost of filing a civil action, suit or proceeding in a district court, increasing the total cost of filing a new civil case to $400.00. This fee does not apply to persons granted in forma pauperis status under 28 U.S.C. Section 1915. A reminder of the fee increase will be sent out to all registered ECF users in mid-April.

Counsel is reminded to please refrain from emailing any sealed materials to the court. Pursuant to Local Rule 5.1(j), sealed documents must be submitted to the Clerk securely sealed in an envelope marked with the case number and the notation DOCUMENT UNDER SEAL, FILED UNDER SEAL, or equivalent. In addition, sealed materials must be submitted to the Clerk’s Office during the business hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and should not be left in any overnight drop box.

Please note the following reminders when opening a new civil case in ECF:

Only civil cases initiated by a complaint, notice of removal or petition to confirm/vacate arbitration award should be opened electronically (by active members of the bar of this court). Do not open a miscellaneous case in ECF.

If you open a shell of a case, continue with filing the complaint/petition or notice of removal. Do not open two shells for the same complaint. If you make a mistake, call the Clerk’s Office and we can make corrections.

When entering party names, be sure to SEARCH first. Do not create a duplicate of a party name that already exists in our database. In addition, remember to use ALL CAPS, drop the words “the,” “an” and “a” from the front of the name, and do not enter an address for any party

Attach your completed civil cover sheet (JS44) to the complaint/petition or notice of removal docket entry. Do not file it as a separate docket entry unless it was mistakenly left off the initiating docket entry.

Complaints accompanied by an emergency motion (i.e., Motion for Temporary Restraining Order), and/or motions relating to sealed or protected information (i.e., Motion to File Under Seal, Motion to Proceed Under a Pseudonym, etc.), must be brought into the Clerk’s Office in paper with a copy on CD. Do not file these types of cases electronically.

After an amazing 40 years with the Clerk’s Office, ECF Coordinator Joe Burgess retired at the end of December. Joe served in many capacities during his tenure, but perhaps most notable was his role in the transition to electronic case filing and launching of ECF in our district back in 2001. His knowledge and expertise was essential in providing excellent training and aid to attorneys, judges and staff over the past 12 years. The Clerk’s Office congratulates Joe on his 40 years of service and wishes him the best in his retirement! Tiffany (Reed) Gough worked with Joe for two years and has succeeded him as ECF Coordinator; she can be reached at (202) 354-3064.

In late February, the Clerk’s Office will launch the latest installment of ECF, version 6.0. Some new features of this version include:

Attorneys can no longer add themselves as representing an opposing party by mistake. For example, an attorney for the plaintiff cannot add himself as an attorney for the defendant. If a terminated or new attorney selects parties from the opposing side, the application will display a pop-up message, the selected parties will be deselected, and the system will not advance to the next screen.

PACER users are sometimes not aware that name and case searches (by filed date or last entry date) are not subject to the 30 page billing cap, and such searches generally return a significant amount of data, resulting in substantial charges. The following new message appears on the Query selection criteria screen for attorney and PACER users: WARNING: Search results from this screen are NOT subject to the 30 page limit on PACER charges. Please be as specific as possible with your search criteria.

The Query selection screen now includes an Exact Matches Only checkbox beside the Last/Business Name field. If this option is checked, the results include only exact matches to the search string entered in the field.

If an attorney has an inactive email address, the label (Inactive) now appears beside the email address on the docket sheet.

Two new links allow PACER users to access other courts and the PACER Case Locator from within ECF. The Links to Other Courts menu item points to a court links page on the PACER Service Center website, so PACER users can more easily navigate from one court to another without having to access the PACER Service Center website outside of ECF. The PACER Case Locator (National Index) menu item also points to the PACER Case Locator on the PACER Service Center website.

The court has elected to allow attorneys to file sealed documents electronically in partially sealed civil and criminal cases. This new procedure will pertain to otherwise public/unsealed cases ONLY, and will take effect Dec. 1, 2012. (Sealed documents filed in completely sealed documents should continue to be submitted in paper). There are some different requirements between filing sealed civil documents and sealed criminal documents. Please take a few moments to review the detailed instructions on filing sealed documents on our website.

The court cannot express this enough: Please DO NOT file your complaint twice in the same case, and DO NOT open two cases/shells for the same complaint. Despite multiple warnings and reminders, this continues to happen and requires a great deal of cleanup by the court. Please take your time when opening a new case and make sure you have everything in order before clicking the final SUBMIT button. If you make a mistake adding a party or forget to add a party, continue filing your complaint in that case and call the Clerk’s Office. We can make necessary corrections. In addition, if you attach the wrong document to your Complaint entry, refile your complaint as an attachment to a Notice of Filing explaining what the error was with the first filing (use the event Notice (other) on the Notices menu). Do not file the complaint again as either another Complaint or an Amended Complaint or you may be charged a second filing fee.

As a reminder, cases opened with a Notice of Removal from DC Superior Court are now required to be filed electronically by the filing attorney. If you have not already done so, please view the supplemental tutorial on our website, which highlights the differences in opening a new case with a Notice of Removal.

There have been a number of attorneys opening new cases and filing documents in ECF who are not active members of the bar of our court. Pursuant to LCvR 5.1(c)(2), signing a pleading certifies that the attorney is an active member of this court’s bar. Therefore, it is very important to check that your membership is up to date prior to opening a new case and/or filing a document. You can check your bar membership status here. Anything other than an active status will require renewal of your membership. (Renewal information can be found here) Failure to file as an active attorney may result in the issuance of an order to show cause as to why the complaint should not be dismissed.

After a relatively smooth transition to civil case opening by attorneys, the Clerk’s Office is ready to add Notices of Removal to the list of case-initiating documents to be filed electronically. Beginning Nov. 1, 2012, attorneys will be required to open a new case in ECF when it is being removed from DC Superior Court. Please take a few moments to view the supplemental tutorial on our website, which highlights the differences in opening a new case with a Notice of Removal: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/AttyCivilCaseOpeningInfo

Filers are reminded that any exhibits or affidavits submitted with your filings should be attached to the docket entry as separate PDF documents. They should not be included in the PDF of your main document (i.e., complaint, motion, etc.), and should be individual PDFs for each exhibit/affidavit whenever possible. Remember, if your PDF attachment is larger than 10 MB, be sure to break it up into smaller sized attachments.

Haven’t been trained or need a refresher on how to open a civil case electronically? There are plenty of resources available on our website, including step-by-step tutorials, manuals and a recorded WebEx (webinar) training class. For more information go to: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/AttyCivilCaseOpeningInfo

Attorneys who are filing new cases in ECF are strongly urged to review the training materials and tutorials available on our website before attempting to file a new case if you have not been properly trained by our staff. Serious errors are occurring due to lack of training, causing extra work for both the filer and the Clerk’s Office. Please avoid doing any of the following:

Now you can get trained on civil case opening from your own office AND at any time! A recorded session of the previously offered webinar training class is now available online. Please visit our website for more information: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/officeTrained

The Clerk’s Office would like to remind all filers that documents in the form of letters or correspondence with a judge or the Clerk are non-compliant with the rules of this court. All documents must be in proper pleading format with the court header, case caption, case number and judge’s initials. For further guidelines, please review Local Rule 5.1(f): http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/local-rules

An RSS - or Really Simple Syndication - feed is available for use with the latest version of ECF. RSS feeds provide frequently updated content published by a website. When you subscribe, Internet Explorer will automatically check the website, in this case ECF, and will download all new content so you can see what is new since you last visited the feed. The RSS feed will provide an updated feed of ALL docket entries filed in ECF; you won’t be able to limit the feed to only the docket entries that you wish to see.

To set up the RSS feed:

Log in to ECF.

On the blue menu bar at the top of the screen, click the CM/ECF button/icon (to the left of the CIVIL docketing link).

In the Court Summary box, click the Further court information link.

On the Court Information screen, click the Last 100 Entries - DCN link.

In the District of Columbia - Recent Entries box, click the Subscribe to this feed link.

To view the RSS in ECF:

When you log in to ECF, the [Feeds] button will change color, letting you know that feeds are available.

The current version of ECF (5.1) was tested and works correctly with Firefox 3.5.x and Internet Explorer 7 and 8. Firefox version 3.6x also appears to function correctly with ECF. Use of other browsers or other versions of Firefox or Internet Explorer is NOT supported and may cause ECF to operate or display incorrectly, potentially resulting in improper or incomplete transactions. Additional technical information regarding browser versions of Firefox and Internet Explorer and how you may maintain a specific version on your computer to access ECF are available at the following links:

Have you ever attempted to file a pleading but couldn’t find the filing event you wanted to use? ECF includes a SEARCH function, located on the blue menu bar at the top of the page, which simplifies the process. Simply type in the event or keyword you are looking for, click [Search] and the event or possible events will appear!

Just two webinar training classes for civil case opening by attorneys remain. The final two webinar classes will be held on Thursday, August 2nd at 10 a.m. and on Tuesday, August 7th at 2 p.m., and will last about one hour. Training is not mandatory but is strongly encouraged and is open to legal assistants, paralegals, etc. There are two portions to the webinar training session: a teleconference portion to hear what is being presented, and a WebEx web conferencing portion to see what is being presented, so both a phone and computer are required to participate.

Visit the following link to register for a class: https://uscourts.webex.com/meet/nwilkens. Click Show All Meetings (to the right of today’s date) to see all scheduled training classes, then click Register to the right of a specific class to register for that class. If you have questions regarding webinar training, contact Nicole Wilkens (nicole_wilkins@dcd.uscourts.gov) for more details.

A: No. Training on how to open a civil case is not mandatory and we understand it doesn’t fit into everyone’s busy schedule. However, it is important to view the tutorials and other documentation available on our website before attempting to open your first case (http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/AttyCivilCaseOpeningInfo). The tutorials contain many pointers on “how to” and/or “when not to” fill in a particular field on the case opening screens, as well as the party and alias selection screens. In addition, you may need to refer to the Civil Case Opening Manual for Attorneys or the Supplemental Manual: Civil Case Opening Screen-by-Screen numerous times during the case opening process, so be sure to print or save them and keep them handy. If you have viewed the tutorials and still need assistance during business hours (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), please contact the Clerk’s Office at (202) 354-3120 or (202) 354-3190.

The WebEx web conferencing website is not accessible to DOJ attorneys/staff due to internet blocks set in place by your IT department, therefore you are unable to register for a webinar training class or participate in the WebEx training room session itself. However, the option to participate in only the teleconference portion of the training class is available and will still prove useful. If you would like to sign up for a class and participate only by phone (and follow along with course materials provided prior to class), please contact Nicole Wilkens (nicole_wilkins@dcd.uscourts.gov) to be registered.

Due to the high volume of registrants for the last two webinar training classes offered in July for civil case opening by attorneys, the Clerk’s Office has extended training to two more classes in August. The final two webinar classes will be held Thursday, August 2nd at 10 a.m. and Tuesday, August 7th at 2 p.m., and will last about one hour. However, a minimum of 10 registrants will be required for each class or the class will be cancelled.

Training is not mandatory but is strongly encouraged and is open to legal assistants, paralegals, etc. There are two portions to the webinar training session: a teleconference portion to hear what is being presented, and a WebEx web conferencing portion to see what is being presented, so both a phone and computer are required to participate.

Visit the following link to register for a class: https://uscourts.webex.com/meet/nwilkens. Click Show All Meetings (to the right of today’s date) to see all scheduled training classes, then click Register to the right of a specific class to register for that class. If you have questions regarding webinar training, contact Nicole Wilkens (nicole_wilkens@dcd.uscourts.gov) for more details.

The WebEx web conferencing website is not accessible to DOJ attorneys/staff due to internet blocks set in place by your IT department, therefore you are unable to register for a webinar training class or participate in the WebEx training room session itself. However, the option to participate in only the teleconference portion of the training class is available and will still prove useful. If you would like to sign up for a class and participate only by phone (and follow along with course materials provided prior to class), please contact Nicole Wilkens (nicole_wilkens@dcd.uscourts.gov) to be registered.

Mandatory civil case opening by attorneys began July 1, 2012. Therefore, all new civil complaints filed by active members of the bar of this court (or certified government attorneys) must be filed electronically in ECF. Pro se filers previously granted ECF privileges should continue to file any new cases in paper. In addition, notices of removal, pro bono cases, and any emergency matters (e.g., Motions for Temporary Restraining Order) should be brought to the Clerk’s Office in paper and on disk until further notice. Tutorials and other training materials on civil case opening are available on our website: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/AttyCivilCaseOpeningInfo

Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth has put an administrative order in place that will be given to attorneys in non-compliance with the civil case opening mandate and procedures. Filers who make multiple and/or repetitive errors will be tracked and may be required to attend mandatory ECF training. Please note the following are two of the most serious errors you can make when opening a new civil case in ECF:

Opening more than one case for the same complaint. DO NOT start over and open a second case if you make a mistake with the first one. Call us and we can correct any errors.

Making two Complaint docket entries in the same case. If you forget to include attachments to the complaint, or if you omitted the addresses of the parties on your complaint, etc., draft a Notice of Filing to correct any errors/omissions and file it as a Notice (Other). DO NOT file everything again as a second Complaint.

Only two webinar opportunities remain for anyone who would like to receive training on how to open a civil case in ECF: July 18th at 10 a.m. and July 26th at 10 a.m.. (Note: Training is not mandatory but is strongly encouraged and is open to legal assistants, paralegals, etc.). There are two portions to the webinar training session: a teleconference portion to hear what is being presented, and a WebEx web conferencing portion to see what is being presented, so both a phone and computer are required to participate.

Visit the following link to register for a class: https://uscourts.webex.com/meet/nwilkens. Click Show All Meetings (to the right of today’s date) to see all scheduled training classes, then click Register to the right of a specific class to register for that class. If you have questions regarding webinar training, contact Nicole Wilkens (nicole_wilkens@dcd.uscourts.gov) for more details.

Just a reminder that beginning July 1, 2012, all new civil complaints filed by active members of the bar of this court (or certified government attorneys) must be filed electronically in ECF. Pro se filers previously granted ECF privileges should continue to file any new cases in paper. In addition, notices of removal, pro bono cases, and any emergency matters (e.g., Motions for Temporary Restraining Order) should be brought to the Clerk’s Office in paper and on disk until further notice.

For those who have not been trained on how to open a civil case electronically, or who may not need to file a new case right away, please take a moment to review the training materials and tutorials available on our website: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/ecf-information

Also, please note the following requirements for opening a new civil case in ECF:

Attorneys must be an active member of the bar of our court or a certified government attorney (no pro hac vice or pro bono attorneys). To check your current status, visit our website: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/bar-attorney-lookup

Civil complaints only; no miscellaneous cases and no Notices of Removal until further notice.

Emergency matters (e.g., complaints accompanied by a Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and/or Preliminary Injunction) are exempt from electronic filing and should be brought to the Clerk’s Office.

Beginning July 1, 2012, training on civil case opening will not be available at the courthouse or on site at law firms. However, webinar training has been extended for a limited number of classes in the month of July to help those who still want training, but may not have a civil case to file right away. (Note: Training is not mandatory but is strongly encouraged and is open to legal assistants, paralegals, etc.). There are two portions to the webinar training session: a teleconference portion to hear what is being presented, and a WebEx web conferencing portion to see what is being presented, so both a phone and computer are required to participate.

Visit the following link to register for a class: https://uscourts.webex.com/meet/nwilkens. Click Show All Meetings (to the right of today’s date) to see all scheduled training classes, then click Register to the right of a specific class to register for that class. If you have questions regarding webinar training, contact Nicole Wilkens (nicole_wilkens@dcd.uscourts.gov) for more details.

Although we have trained many attorneys and their staff on how to enter new parties when opening a civil case, we ask that you please refrain from filing any other types of documents or motions that may require adding new parties to the docket. The following documents should continue to be emailed to the court (dcd_cmecf@dcd.uscourts.gov) until further notice:

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has introduced webinar training for civil case opening by attorneys. The class is about one hour long and allows for a large number of participants, so that more of our bar may be trained prior to the July 1st mandate of opening new civil cases electronically. Classes are offered on Tuesdays at 2 p.m. EDT, and on Thursdays at 10 a.m. EDT, throughout the month of June. There are two portions to the webinar training session: a teleconference portion to hear what is being presented (a toll-free number will be provided to listen and participate by phone), and a WebEx web conferencing portion to see what is being presented (it may be necessary to download WebEx tools/features or enable browser capabilities in advance if you are new to the program).

Click Show All Meetings (to the right of today’s date) to see all scheduled training classes, then click Register to the right of a specific class to register for that class. If you have questions regarding webinar training, contact Nicole Wilkens (nicole_wilkens@dcd.uscourts.gov) for more details.

Pro se parties who have previously been granted ECF filing privileges in a case should not open a new civil case electronically. Civil case opening only applies to attorneys who are active members of the bar of our court. Pro se plaintiffs should continue to file their complaints and other case initiating documents in paper and move to file electronically on a case-by-case basis.

For those attorneys who have been trained and given permission to open new civil cases electronically, we would like to clarify and remind you of two things:

DO NOT open the shell of a case without filing a complaint to go with it. Even if a statute of limitations is not an issue, the complaint MUST be filed the same day the case is opened. In other words, do not open the case with the idea of filing the complaint a few days later. The case number will be voided and parties deleted after a reasonable amount of time has passed with no complaint filed.

DO NOT enter new parties unless you are opening a new case and/or filing a complaint. Attorneys have been granted privileges to add new parties ONLY when opening a new case. Amended Complaints, Third-Party Complaints, Motions to Intervene, and Motions to Appear as Amicus Curiae still need to be emailed to the court (dcd_cmecf@dcd.uscourts.gov) until further notice.

A newly updated Civil Cover Sheet is now required for new civil cases (JS-44 Rev. 5/12 DC). Some new Natures of Suit have been added and others removed, so please be sure to use the updated form found on our website: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/new-case-forms

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will introduce webinar training for opening new civil cases beginning in June. The class is projected to be about 45 minutes long and will allow for a large number of participants, so that more of our bar can be trained prior to the July 1st mandate of opening new civil cases electronically. Classes will be offered on Tuesdays at 2 p.m., and on Thursdays at 10 a.m., throughout the month of June.

A computer or laptop with internet connection and a phone will be required to participate. Also, please view the online Tutorial: Entering Party Names and print the Supplemental Manual: Civil Case Opening Screen-By-Screen (http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/ecf-information) prior to participating in a training class.

Click Show All Meetings (to the right of today’s date) to see all scheduled training classes, then click Register to the right of a specific class to register for that class. If you encounter problems, send an email to Nicole Wilkens (nicole_wilkens@dcd.uscourts.gov) with the date and time of your desired training class.

Just a reminder that regardless of whether you are filing a civil case over the counter or via ECF, you must submit all proper case opening documents. This includes the Report on the Filing or Determination of an Action Regarding a Patent or Trademark and the Report on the Filing or Determination of an Action or Appeal Regarding a Copyright. These and other case opening forms are available online: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/new-case-forms

Some civil case opening training documents have been updated or revised. Please visit our website for the latest version of these documents: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/ecf-information. Be sure to check back regularly for further updates as things may change or come up throughout the training process.

On March 15, 2012, the Attorney Civil Case Opening module was made available for optional use in CM/ECF. Between now and June 30, 2012, any active member of the bar of this court and registered ECF user who receives training can voluntarily open new civil cases electronically (complaints only). To date, more than 40 cases have been opened successfully by attorneys. Effective July 1, 2012, it will be mandatory that most new civil cases be opened by attorneys using the case opening module. (Note: Emergency matters, Notices of Removal, and Petitions for Writ of Habeas Corpus will not be filed electronically by attorneys in the foreseeable future). To learn more about attorney civil case opening, including Frequently Asked Questions, please visit our website here.

Training on opening new civil cases is strongly encouraged prior to the July 1st mandatory requirement and has been in full swing since its announcement last month. Currently, all training classes for May and June show as “closed” on our online registration site. However, prior registration is no longer necessary. Anyone interested in attending training is encouraged to simply select a scheduled training class, report to the Clerk’s Office (Room 1225) at the appropriate time, and someone will escort you to the training area. Arrangements for training large groups (minimum 15 people) at your agency or law firm may still be made by contacting Joe Burgess at (202) 354-3172 or Tiffany Reed at (202) 354-3064. In addition, stay tuned for information regarding webinar training opportunities in the near future.

Multiple summonses can be merged together and attached to the complaint as one PDF file.

Before attaching the civil cover sheet or summons, PRINT them to a new PDF file (select Adobe PDF as your printer) so that the fillable text fields are made fixed and unable to be modified; simply saving the completed forms allows text fields to be modified once attached to the complaint.

Please remember to include all appropriate summonses with new case submissions, whether done electronically or over the counter. A summons is required for each named defendant in the complaint. In addition, complaints against the United States or other federal defendants require additional summonses to be issued to both the U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General. Also, complaints against the District of Columbia or other DC government defendants require that additional summonses be issued to the DC Attorney General and DC Mayor. All required sections (i.e. case caption, defendant’s name and address, attorney’s name and address) must also be filled out completely and accurately.

Beginning March 15, 2012, the Attorney Civil Case Opening module will be available for optional use in CM/ECF. Upon receiving training, any active member of the bar of this court and registered ECF user can voluntarily open new civil cases and file complaints electronically. Effective July 1, 2012, it will be mandatory that most new civil cases be opened by attorneys using this module. (Note: Emergency matters, Notices of Removal, and Petitions for Writ of Habeas Corpus will not be filed electronically by attorneys in the foreseeable future).

Training is available at the court by online registration: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/ecftraining/. Arrangements for training large groups at your agency or law firm may be made by contacting Joe Burgess at (202) 354-3172 or Tiffany Reed at (202) 354-3064.

Some benefits of Attorney Civil Case Opening include:

Attorneys can open a new civil case (complaints only) and receive a case number immediately, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Summonses are available immediately upon issuance; no need to make a trip to the courthouse to pick them up, or wait for them to arrive by mail.

Filing fee is paid online; no need to send a check to the Clerk’s Office via messenger.

Q: Is training mandatory?
A. No. However, new case filing by attorneys is completely new to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and there is a lot of room for error. Deficiency notices will be sent to the judges and placed on the public docket when errors are made. In addition, training may not be readily available after July 1, 2012. Therefore, we strongly encourage training to make this transition as easy as possible for both attorneys and Clerk’s Office staff.

Q: Is everyone in the firm required to attend training?
A: No. A paralegal or administrative assistant may attend training in place of the attorney(s). We ask only that a list of the attorneys in that firm be provided to us so that the necessary case opening permissions can be given to their ECF accounts.

Q: Are attorneys outside the DC Metropolitan area required to attend training?
A: No. You can review our training materials online and fill out and sign the Out of Town Certification form. (http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/ecf-information)

Q: What is considered “outside the DC Metropolitan area”?
A: Generally, attorneys in Virginia and Maryland that are over an hour away from the DC limits would be considered outside the DC Metropolitan area and can review training materials online, rather than appearing in person. This would also include all other out-of-state attorneys that may practice in our court.

Q: What are the requirements for hosting the training at our firm?
A: A minimum of 15 trainees are required to be present for training at a law firm or other agency. Required equipment includes: a screen that everyone can view, a computer/laptop, and an internet connection. Also, the firm must be within walking distance of a Metro station. To schedule group training, call Joe Burgess or Tiffany Reed.

Q: I am a criminal attorney, pro hac vice attorney, or a pro se party with ECF filing privileges. Should I receive training?
A: No. Mandatory case opening is only for civil complaints filed by active members of the bar of this court.

Q: When I click on a date on the training calendar, it says the sign up is closed. What do I do?
A: Training classes are booked for all of March and most of April. You may check for availability for the end of April and May. Training classes for June will be available in the near future.

A new event is now available on the CIVIL docketing menu in ECF. It is Response to Motion and can be found on the Oppositions and Replies menu. This event should be used when filing a response to a motion that is not an opposition (e.g., a separate consent to a motion or a response stating you do not oppose it). If you are filing an opposition, please continue to use the appropriate Memorandum in Opposition to Motion event.

As a reminder, documents may be submitted by email in the event of a system outage or problem with ECF (dcd_cmecf@dcd.uscourts.gov). In addition to an email submission, counsel should also contact the Clerk’s Office by phone (202-354-3190 for civil, 202-354-3160 for criminal) to alert us of the problem you encountered (unless it is scheduled maintenance planned in advance by the Clerk’s Office). If there is any concern in missing a court-imposed deadline, a Motion to Extend Time should be filed either by email or directly in ECF. Please keep in mind that email submissions are a courtesy to those filers experiencing technical difficulties (whether it is a planned outage on our part, or some other problem) and the use of them should not be abused.

Documents submitted by email should contain an appropriate subject line (including the case number and caption) and a brief message describing what is being filed and why. Also, please make sure PDF files are named appropriately for faster and easier processing.

There are a couple of different ways to docket in consolidated cases, based on judge preference. Regardless of whether you are ordered to docket your pleadings only in the lead case or to spread the docket entry to all member cases, it is important to note how your document should be captioned. All documents in a consolidated case should include the lead case number and lead case caption as part of the main header. Then list any member case numbers below the lead case number. It is important to include the case numbers of all of the consolidated cases on your documents for easy reference.

All returns of service MUST contain a case caption and case number. If you are filing process server affidavits or return receipts (from the U.S. Postal Service, Fed Ex, etc.), they must contain the case caption and case number OR be attached as exhibits to a Notice of Filing or other applicable main document with the full cast caption and case number.

When filing returns of service, be sure to only select the appropriate party or parties served. Please DO NOT select the “All Defendants” option to the right of the filers menu unless all defendants have in fact been served and are represented in that single docket entry. For all other instances, select the specific party or parties served that match the return of service being filed with that docket entry.

Attorneys are required to be an “active” member of the bar of this court to be permitted to file a new complaint or document in a case. (This is separate and in addition to being a member of the DC or other state bar). To stay active, attorneys are required to renew their bar memberships with our court every three (3) years or they become “provisional” and are temporarily barred from filing. If you are unsure of your status with the court prior to appearing in a case and/or filing a document, you can check your status and other information (e.g., whether your address, phone number, etc., are current) on our website at: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/bar-attorney-lookup

Some problems have arisen from the use of ECF in conjunction with certain versions of internet browsers. Notices of Electronic Filing (NEFs) may not be viewed properly and filing problems may occur when using the following web browsers:

The Clerk’s Office strongly encourages filers to refrain from waiting until the last minute to file your documents, particularly when dealing with large and/or numerous attachments. Although the filing process might begin before midnight on a given day, processing the documents in ECF may take longer or be slower than expected, resulting in the docket entry being posted after midnight and therefore, after the deadline. Please keep in mind, the “Date Filed” is determined by the date/time the docket entry is posted to the docket, not the date/time the entry was submitted. In addition, there is no telling when a technical problem may arise, barring a successful and timely filing. When faced with time constraints or technical difficulties with a looming deadline, please note the following Local Rule:

Local Rule 5.4

(g) INCORRECT FILINGS AND TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

(3) The inability to complete an electronic filing because of technical problems may constitute “cause” for an order enlarging time or “exclusable neglect” for the failure to act within the specified time, within the meaning of F.R.Civ.P. 6(b). Counsel or parties encountering technical problems with CM/ECF filing shall immediately notify a Clerk’s Office employee of the problem by telephone and immediately send written confirmation of that notification to the Office of the Clerk. This Rule does not provide authority to extend statutory and jurisdictional time limits.

COMMENT to LCvR 5.4(g): Notice to the Clerk that technical problems interfered with electronic filing can provide a contemporaneous record in support of a party’s motion under F.R.Civ.P. 6(b) for an order enlarging time. Only the Court, not the Clerk, may enlarge time. However, if the filing deadline is statutory and jurisdictional, electronic filers should take care not to wait until the last minute to file since not even technical difficulties will provide a means for the Court to extend the deadline.

Please remember that although it may appear that ECF and PACER are one and the same, they are really two separate but interconnected systems that have two different functions, and therefore require two unique logins. Generally, ECF is used to file documents in a case. PACER is used to view documents in a case (Note: See next topic for special circumstances).

If you are unable to see the Civil and Criminal docketing menus in ECF, it means you are logged in as a PACER user and will not be able to file anything electronically without first logging out and then logging back in using your ECF login information. Please keep your login and password information available and ready to use when a filing deadline approaches. If you forget or lose your ECF password, you can request a new one on our website at: https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PwReset.pl. (Please allow 24-48 hours to process your request). However, if you have issues with your PACER login/password, you will need to contact the PACER Service Center directly at (800) 676-6856.

There are a few instances in which an ECF login, rather than a PACER login, is necessary to view a document. This occurs when certain private or restricted documents are received via a Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) email. In order to view these types of documents, ECF must recognize that you are an attorney of record in the case before allowing you to view the document. Therefore, you must be logged in using your ECF login/password and not your PACER login/password. Such private/restricted documents are filed in criminal, alien detainee (Nature of Suite Codes 462, 463 and 465), and Social Security cases. As a rule of thumb, if you are unable to view a document from an NEF using your PACER login, log out and log back in with your ECF login. If you are still unable to view the document, call the Clerk’s Office for assistance at (202) 354-3190.

In August of this year, the Clerk’s Office began a pilot program to train attorneys and their staff to open civil cases and file new complaints in ECF. In mid-October, trained attorneys and staff were given permission to file their own complaints. During that time, two new civil cases were filed electronically with the assistance of Clerk’s Office staff. Currently, we have trained attorneys and staff from 28 law firms and several private and government agencies. Permission to open cases electronically was given to 138 attorneys in October and November and training will continue monthly.

Those attorneys wishing to file new civil cases electronically can schedule training at the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse using the ECF Training Class Calendar on our website: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/ecf-information (Limit 10 people per class; the next scheduled class is Monday, Dec. 12th). On-site training at law firms can also be arranged for groups of 20 or more (must be present for entire training class) by contacting Joe Burgess at (202) 354-3172. In addition, login names and passwords can be issued to interested attorneys who wish to use our training database to practice opening new civil cases. To request this information, please contact Joe Burgess (joe_burgess@dcd.uscourts.gov) or Tiffany Reed (tiffany_reed@dcd.uscourts.gov).

Training is now available for attorneys interested in opening new civil cases electronically in ECF. Attorneys eligible to receive training must be active members of the bar of our court and be able to pay the case-opening filing fee with a credit card or ACH payment (debit) via pay.gov. Once trained, attorneys will be certified to open and file new civil cases electronically. All support staff who may be involved with ECF filing are also encouraged to attend training.

Those attorneys wishing to file new civil cases electronically can schedule training at the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse using the ECF Training Class Calendar on our website: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/ecf-information (Limit 10 people per class; Classes for November will be available for registration on Nov. 4, 2011). On-site training at law firms can also be arranged for groups of 20 or more (must be present for entire training class) by contacting Joe Burgess at (202) 354-3172. In addition, login names and passwords can be issued to interested attorneys who wish to use our training database to practice opening new civil cases. To request this information, please contact Joe Burgess (joe_burgess@dcd.uscourts.gov) or Tiffany Reed (tiffany_reed@dcd.uscourts.gov).

A cross motion and opposition can be combined into one document, but must be filed as two separate docket entries with the same document and exhibits attached to each entry. File the documents twice, once as a Motion and once as a Memorandum in Opposition. The same applies to a combined opposition and reply (two entries: Memorandum in Opposition and Reply to Opposition) or combined status report and motion (two entries: Status Report and Motion).

Beginning mid-October, training classes on how to open new civil cases electronically in ECF will be available to attorneys and their staff at the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse. Those firms wishing to file new civil cases electronically should schedule training using the ECF Training Class Calendar on our website: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/ecf-information. Eligible attorneys must be active members of the bar of our court and be able to pay the case-opening filing fee with a credit or debit card via pay.gov. Once trained, filers will be certified to open and file new civil cases electronically. All support staff who may be involved with ECF filing are encouraged to attend training.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will upgrade to version 5.0 of ECF before the end of this year. While the majority of the new features of this release will only affect court staff users, there is one change that will require attention by public users: more secure passwords. Upon first logging in after the upgrade, all attorneys and pro se filers with access to ECF will be required to change their password to conform with new password security requirements (at least eight characters, both upper and lower case, and at least one digit or special character). An email alert will be sent to all ECF users prior to the upgrade.

On November 1, 2011, the retroactive application of crack cocaine amendment to federal sentencing guidelines implementing the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 will take effect. Any motions related to this retroactive amendment should be filed as a Motion to Reduce Sentence re Crack Cocaine Offense - 18:3582. This event can be accessed via the CRIMINAL docketing menu in ECF, under Motions. Please be sure to use this specific event when filing motions related to this retroactive sentencing amendment, or the motion will be entered in error and you will be required to refile it using the correct event.

Based on the number of motions that are filed regarding scheduling orders and the modification thereof, three new “reliefs” (events) have been added to the civil Motions menu in ECF for your filing convenience. They are: Briefing Schedule, Scheduling Order, and Modify. Please be sure to use these specific reliefs when filing the applicable motion rather than using generic options like Motion for Order or Miscellaneous Relief.

Leave of court is required before filing a Surreply. To accurately move for leave, file a Motion for Leave to File with the proposed Surreply attached to the motion as an exhibit. If the Motion for Leave to File is granted by the court, a member of the Clerk’s Office staff will refile the Surreply as a new and separate docket entry.

The Clerk’s Office is seeking 20 volunteers for a pilot project for the electronic filing of new civil cases (complaints only). If you anticipate filing a new civil complaint on or before September 1st and have an interest in filing your case electronically, please contact Joe Burgess (Joe_Burgess@dcd.uscourts.gov) or Tiffany Reed ((Tiffany_Reed@dcd.uscourts.gov). In order to participate, volunteers must take a three-hour training class at the courthouse at a time to be determined by the trainer and your schedule. Thank you in advance for your interest!

An Errata is to be filed to correct minor typos, omissions, or similar errors in a previously filed document. It should be titled an Errata, filed using the event Errata (under Other Documents), and linked to the previous docket entry that contained the errors. If you are making substantive changes to your original document, or would prefer to file a corrected version of it, you should file the amended or corrected document/motion in full, as if you were filing it for the first time. For instance, if substantive corrections were made to a Memorandum in Opposition to a Motion to Dismiss, you would file an amended opposition, using the event Memorandum in Opposition (under Oppositions and Replies). You can then add the word “Amended” to your docket entry. Rule of thumb: A simple Errata should not be filed as a Memorandum in Opposition, and an Amended Memorandum in Opposition should not be filed in full as an Errata.

When submitting an online fillable PDF form for filing (e.g., Notice of Appearance), please be sure to first PRINT it as a new PDF document before attaching it to the docket entry. Printing the document to a new PDF makes the information/text fields fixed and unalterable. Conversely, simply saving the PDF allows the information/text fields to remain open and unfixed, thereby allowing them to be altered or tampered with.

Please be sure you are correctly selecting all parties represented in your motion/document when filing it. To select more than one party from the Party Selection list, hold the <CTRL> key down and click on each name. Be sure to double check you have selected all of the represented parties and not just the lead plaintiff or defendant before making your final submission

Whether you are filing an Administrative Record in full or in part, it should be accompanied by a Notice of Filing and filed in ECF using the event Administrative Record (under Other Documents). Please do not use the generic event Notice (Other). Whenever possible, Administrative Records should be scanned and attached to the docket entries in their entirety, rather than submitted to the Clerk’s Office on CD/disk or paper. More than one docket entry can be made to accommodate the size of your filing, as long as each one is filed as an Administrative Record and contains the Notice of Filing as the first attached document.

Please remember that it is counsel’s responsibility to serve any sealed documents on the opposing party. The Clerk’s Office is not responsible for effecting service of such documents. Also, all sealed documents must contain a Certificate of Service.

Please remember to include a disk or CD containing PDF versions of your case-opening documents (i.e. complaint, civil cover sheet, etc.) at the time your new case is submitted to the Clerk’s Office. This expedites the opening and availability of your case in ECF. If you cannot submit a disk/CD with the complaint or other initiating document, you MUST deliver a disk/CD or email the documents by 9:00 a.m. the next business day. PDFs can be emailed to: mailto:dcd_cmecf@dcd.uscourts.gov.

Documents that are created in a word processing program such as Microsoft Word or Word Perfect should be converted or printed to a PDF document, not scanned. Registered ECF users (who have been assigned a login and password) can use a typed signature on such documents (e.g., /s/ John Johnson) and there is no need for a handwritten signature. Converting a document to PDF helps reduce file size, making documents faster and easier to download and view. Scanning should be reserved for exhibits or attachments to your main document and any affidavits or declarations that must contain a real signature. Also, please remember to scan at a low resolution (300 dots per inch) and in black and white only.

A Notice of Filing must accompany any document that A) does not contain a proper court header/caption (e.g., exhibits or affidavits that are filed separately from a motion or related filing), and/or B) was inadvertently left off of a previous filing/docket entry (e.g., proposed orders, certificates of service). The Notice of Filing should also contain a brief description of what is being filed and why as well as the attorney’s signature.

Filing fees paid in person can be paid in cash, by check, or by money order. Please note that “starter checks” (checks temporarily issued on a new checking account) cannot be accepted for payment of filing fees. Appeal fees can be paid online by registered ECF users using a credit card and the online payment service, pay.gov.

The U.S. District and Bankruptcy Courts for the District of Columbia require members of the Bar to renew their membership every three years to remain active. There are now two options for renewal of membership – online using ECF and Pay.gov (credit card) or by the standard method of mailing the renewal form and fee (check). When notified that it is time to renew, attorneys are encouraged to complete the renewal process online using ECF and Pay.gov as outlined further on our website:

Attorneys who elect to complete the renewal process by mail should send their renewal form and check to the following address:

U.S. District and Bankruptcy Courts for the District of Columbia
P.O. Box 79399
Baltimore, MD 21279-0399

Please note, this is not a notice that all attorneys should renew their membership to our Bar right now. Attorneys will be notified when it is time to renew. The Clerk’s Office just wishes to advise attorneys of the new online renewal option for future use.

In an effort to eliminate as much paper as possible, the Clerk’s Office encourages even the most voluminous of exhibits to be filed electronically via ECF. To that end, the event Large Additional Attachment(s) (found under Other Documents on both the Civil and Criminal docketing menus) was created. If the exhibits, attachments, declarations, etc., of any document are too large or numerous for one docket entry, they can be broken down and filed in ECF as additional docket entries by using the Large Additional Attachment(s) event. A Notice or Praecipe must accompany these large exhibits and include the case caption, case number, and attorney’s signature (typed or handwritten). The event allows for 10 attachments (5 MB each) to be uploaded within a 20-minute window before the system will time out. As many docket entries can be made as needed to get all exhibits uploaded to the docket, but be sure to select the original docket entry (i.e. Motion for Summary Judgment) to which the attachments relate when asked to do so. Also, please note that the Large Additional Attachment(s) event should only be used when filing numerous and voluminous exhibits. Use the event Errata (also found under Other Documents) when one or more smaller exhibits were inadvertently omitted from the original document.

According to the District Clerks’ Manual, Chapter/Section 13.03(f), if an appeal is for more than one case and the cases are consolidated, only one docketing fee and one filing fee are paid ($455.00 total). To avoid paying the appeal fee multiple times, make only one docket entry for the Notice of Appeal in the lead case (if asked to “spread text” to the member case(s), do so, but do not file individual Notices of Appeal in each individual member case).

When filing a Notice of Appearance in a criminal case, defense counsel should designate whether they are retained or CJA appointed. For sealed cases, submit an original and one copy of the Notice of Appearance in paper with a certificate of service and a PDF version on disk.

This is a reminder that sealed documents must be filed with the Clerk’s Office between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Sealed documents must not be left in the overnight drop box, nor emailed to the Clerk’s Office ECF email box.

We have created new specific docket entries that should now be used when filing Returns of Service as to District of Columbia defendants (in their official capacity only).

For the summons served on the DC Attorney General, use the docket entry:
➤ SUMMONS RETURNED EXECUTED AS TO DC ATTORNEY GENERAL

For the summons served on the Mayor of DC, use the docket entry:
➤ SUMMONS RETURNED EXECUTED AS TO THE MAYOR FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBI

For the summons served on DC defendants (in their official capacity only), one entry can be made and separate dates of service can be entered for all returns of service using the docket entry:
➤ SUMMONS RETURNED EXECUTED AS TO DC DEFENDANT

Please be sure that the PDF version of your filing submitted on CD or disk matches the paper version of your document exactly. This includes, in particular, any edits or redactions of personal identifying information, and all exhibits, headers, captions and signatures. For example, if a party’s name appears as John Doe on the paper document, it should appear as John Doe on the disk as well. Or if a social security number has been blacked out on the paper version, it should be redacted on the disk version as well. When a CD or disk is provided, the filing will be made from the CD/disk and should reflect the document exactly as you wish it to appear on the ECF docket.

Pursuant to Local Rule 5.1(b), correspondence/letters to the judge are not permitted (unless directed by the judge) and should never be filed on the docket. Anything that should be made a part of the record MUST be in proper pleading/motion/notice format, pursuant to Local Rule 5.1(f), which states in part: “Every paper shall contain a heading under the caption describing the nature of the pleading, motion or other paper.....The case number on every paper shall be followed by the initials of the judge to whom the case has been assigned.” In addition, documents in multi-defendant criminal cases should include the defendant number in the case number (i.e. 11cr1000-8).

If you are filing a document that directly relates to a previous docket entry, please be sure to “link” it to that entry. When presented with the question, Should the document you are filing link to another document in this case?, click the box next to it (a green checkmark will appear) and click SUBMIT. ECF will then open a screen with all of the previous docket entries in the case, and you can select the one(s) your document relates to by clicking the box(es) to the left (again, a green checkmark will appear in those you selected). This is an important step in the filing process, as it makes for a clear and concise docket entry, and allows for easier reference between related docket entries. Examples of documents that should be linked back to previous docket entries include: Erratas, Responses, Replies, Supplemental Memorandums, Notices of Appeal, some Notices of Filing, and some Motions (i.e. Strike, Extension of Time, Amend, Reconsideration, Withdraw, etc.).